Fewer young people out of work in Yarmouth

The Department for Work and Pensions has released its latest figures, revealing a significant drop in the unemployment figures for the borough’s young people.

This time last year, there were 375 people aged between 16 and 24 claiming unemployment benefits in the town. Now there are just 120 - a drop of exactly 68pc.

There has also been a drop of exactly a quarter in the past month alone, with figures falling from 160 in July, to 140 in September.

A similar decline has been seen in the overall figures, with more than half the number of people claiming in September, comparing with September 2015.

A total of 705 people made claims in September, compared with 1,475 in September 2015 - a drop of 52.2pc.

Julia Nix, Job Centre manager attributes the success to a collaborative effort between the centre and other organisations.

She said: “This are the best figures we have had for some time, and I put that down to the successful partnership work that has been taking place between ourselves, the borough council, the college and many other organisations within the voluntary community sector.

“All of these bodies have been working extremely hard together and really making a difference.”

The figures see the borough bucking the regional trend, with overall unemployment increasing by 3.9pc in the East of England.

Ms Nix says another reason for the drop has been the willingness of people to try different things through work experience programs.

However, she did acknowledge that lack of seasonal work will make the coming months much more difficult.

She added: “If we were to see this trend continue through the coming month I would be delighted, as we know these months are the hardest of the year.

“We are however working on a project to move people from one seasonal business to another. For example, while holiday parks and summer tourism business are shutting down, retail companies are taking on additional Christmas staff, and these skills are transferable.”